Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-06
-d Ashes for Orchards.

Woo ashes are held in high esteem
.. /. fItilizer by all scientific authori-
ties They are especially valuable to
fru; growers, as may be seen from
tha hafollowing results of analyses
fnIished by Professor r. G. Kedzie,
ofthe Agricultural College of Michi-
On. Professor Kedzie says: "When
fe consider how large an amount of
vegetable matter is represented by a
small amount of ash. the value of
wood ashes for manure becomes evil
dent. Thus ten pound of ash remains
from the combustion of cord of soft
wood. One hundred pounds of ash
represents the mineral matter of eigh-
ty-five bushels of wheat, eighty-tive
bushels of corn, or a ton OF timothy
hav. Eleven tons of gooseberries,
grapes, blackberries, peaches or apples
would each contain only 100 pounds of
ash. Seven tons of cherries, plums or
raspberries contain only 100 pounds
of mineral matter.
"This gives some idea of the large
amount of farm or orchard produce
which will be represented by small
weight of mineral matter. But small
as is the amount of ash, it is indispen-
sible for the production of these crops,
and must be present in the soil in
available form before profitable cult
walton is possible.
'If anv soil is naturally deficient in
any of the ash constituents, or has
been impoverished by excessive crop
ping, the restoration of these materials
in the form of wood ashes appears to
be the natural and safe process, be-
cause they contain all the minerals OF
vegetable growth.
"Hard wood ashes were taken from
my kitchen stove, the fuel being a
mixture of beech and hard maple.
Small fragments of charcoal were
scattered through the ashes and lit
tie sand and dirt adhered to the wood.
Ninety-three per cent was soluble in
dilute hydrochloric acid; the potash
constituted 121a per cent. One hun
dred pounds are worth 81.
81 have lust received letter from
a very intelligent fruit grower in
which he says: 4 can get pure, dry,
hard wood ashes at $500 per ton here,
and the same mixed with fish offal,
half and half, at IS per ton. Which
is the best for pears, apples, grapes
and berries, Fine Raw Bone at $3S,
or pure ashes, or ashes and fish offal p
NV answer is Whatever you neglect
to buy, do not fail to buy all the hard
wood ashes your means will allow or
your land needs, when you can get
them for $500 ton. If man offers
to sell you gold for the price OF silver,
buy the gold and sell it not
"Leached ashes were taken from a
tannery in Lansing, the teaching hav-
ing been carried as far as it was profit
able to eighty-nine per cent soluble in
acid. The potash was 1.6 per cent
and phosphoric acid 6.S per cent.
Value of 100 pounds, 50 cents.
"If leached ashes are of enough
value to be bought in car lots in Mich
igan and carried by rail to hutfalo to
make commercial manures for Michi-
gan farmers, then they are valuable
enough to be used as measures at
home, where they cost little or moth
ing, and the expense of double trans
portation is saved.
"Soft wood ashes were obtained
lTOiH Tie ASH l1lt VI u PiahiiiS hiiI tte
Lansing, being the ashes from plan
ings of pine. hemlock, fir and bass
wood lumber, with some soft coal
ashes mixed in. 1t represents the
ashes from sawmill and planning mill
furnaces. Fifty per cent. OF the ashes
were soluble in acid, and so much
soluble silica was in the ashes that
when treated with acid it formed a
jellv-like mass of precipitated silica,
II per cent. potash and 4 per cent.
phosphoric acid. One hundred pounds
are worth 81 cents.
81 may say in general terms that
the ashes of wood and land plants OF
every kind are OF value as manure on
every kind of soil which has been re-
duced by cropping; but the greatest
benefit is shown upon sandy and
porous soils. On these light soils
crops of every kind, but especially
root crops and corn, will be benefited
by a dressing of wood ashes. Fruit
trees and fruit-bearing plants having
woody structure will be benefited by
wood ashes. Thirty to fifty bushels
to the acre, of fresh ashes, will be a
full dressing, and three or four times
that amount of leached ashes may be
applied with permanent benefit.